The Island of Dr. Moreau

Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life.

While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells's prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing "smarter" human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick's adventures on Dr. Moreau's island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.

Author: H. G. Wells
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 06/24/2025
Series: Vintage Classics
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.4lbs
Size: 7.89h x 5.34w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9798217006922

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 7.2
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 53482 / Island of Dr. Moreau (Unabridged)

About the Author
H. G. WELLS (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer in many genres, prominent in his time as a socialist and a pacifist as well as a pioneer of science fiction, author of The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Dr. Moreau, among other novels.